So Amiibo's are a thing. Since they're closely tied to Smash Bros games, which include many popular characters from retro and Nintendo video games, they make a good toy-line for collecting.

That's what I tell myself anyway.

I completely botched my chance to get a Villager (Animal Crossing) and Marth (Fire Emblem) on Smash Bros launch day, as I did not expect them to be unicorn rare. I was always going to order characters I liked, such as Mega Man. After discovering the scarcity though, I pre-ordered what I could from "series 3".

Coming soon for me are Mega Man and Sonic, and a friend ordered a Lucario (Pokemon) for me. These 3 are probably the ones I wanted the most, the former two because they represent Capcom and Sega, two influential developers to me as a kid. The later, Lucario, I really like how he plays in both Smash 4 and Pokemon (He's a main for me in both games).

Since collecting can be expensive, I've set some rules for myself:

- Only one of each character (since most duplicates have the same NFC base)
- I can only buy them at regular price. No eBay overcharge BS. If I miss a character, I miss a character.
- All characters must be characters I care about, be it from games I loved, art styles I love, or I need to like how they play in Smash Bros.

Hopefully I can stick to the rules. :)

* * *

Here are some notes and thoughts on what I have, what I have on order, and what I want. Really, I couldn't help myself. ;)

Have:
- King Dedede (<3 Kirby Character Designs)
- Bowser (a Classic, and it was a good looking figure)
- Toon Link (I didn't want an ordinary Link, and I doubt I'm going to get anything resembling a NES Link)
- Ike (IMO he is good in Smash Bros, and Marth is my Melee main)
- Sheik (...regrettably I think I only bought her because I knew she would be rare)
- Lucario (My Smash 4 main. Woke up early, waited in line at Toys R Us, and I got one!)
- Samus (These are starting to disappear, so I grabbed one while I could still choose)
- Kirby (He's basically a pink ball, but I don't care. :D. Toys R Us coupon, $10 off $40)
- Pikachu (Toys R Us coupon, $10 off $40)
- Donkey Kong (Toys R Us coupon, $10 off $40)
- Mega Man
- Sonic
- Yoshi (Mario Set)
- Luigi (Mario Set)
- Toad (Mario Set)
- Pac Man (This really sums up why I think I care about Amiibo. It's a nearly comprehensive collection of classic video game toys. So Pac Man for "The Respect")
- Charizard (I was on the fence, but FFS he's a dragon!)
- Lucina (She's a Marth clone in Smash 4, I already have Ike, and I'm gunning for Marth. May as well have the set)
- Ness (...only because he'll be rare. After all, it's not like Nintendo is ever going to make a new Earthbound)
- Greninja (Plays a-lot like my main Lucario, yet different. I also like the character design)
- Jigglypuff (An alt I like to play in Smash, because I can be such an ass with it, and the one-hit-kill)
- Splatoon Girl (BEST CHARACTER DESIGN)
- Splatoon Boy (I didn't need it, but I wanted the Squid and to get the squid you needed to buy a 3-pack)
- Splatoon Squid (ALSO REALLY GOOD DESIGN)
- Meta Knight (I lucked out and managed to get one)
- Villager ('cmon Mike, just wait until the next Animal Crossing game comes out, and you'll get one)
- Marth (Nintendo did say they will be bringing him back. My Melee main) **
- Shulk (game that shal not be named. I've started playing him. One of the more interesting new Smash characters to me)
- Captain Falcon (*shrug*)
- Little Mac (Don't really need him, but Punch Out was nostalgic)
- Olimar + Pikmin
- PHAT PIXEL MARIO... because voxels!
- Dr Mario (Yes I already have a Mario (Silver), but this Mario has a PHD, so)
- Rob (because ROBOT) *
- Duck Hunt Dog+Duck (Because it's Duck Hunt) *
- Mr Game and Watch (I play this character to mock people. Toss that bacon!) *

* * *

Will Order:
- Ryu (STREET FIGHTER)
- MewTwo (I have all the other Pokemon, and I like the design (Freeza?), so why not)

* * *

Undecided (Probably Not):
- Roy (Swordfighters yo!)
- Lucas (I have a Ness, so *shurg*)
- Falco (I like him a lot better than Fox. I could care less about Fox TBH)

Would Like (nothing announced, just other stuff):
- Ice Climbers (absent from Smash 4, but I like the characters. I hope they get added as DLC, as Nintendo doing Amiibo's of their DLC characters too)
- Female Robin (one of the more unusual aspects of Smash, you can play as either Male or Female Robin. I don't care for the Male Robin figure, but I'd gladly take the alt)
- Goomba ('nuff said)
- Turtle (Gonna stomp on that guy and get a shell)
- Dry Bones
- Boo
- Piranha Plant
- More Pokemon (I actually have most of my favourites already, but I'm sure there are 3-4 more I wouldn't mind having)
- Some more Non-Nintendo classic gaming icons (I'll know them when I see them)_________________Mike Kasprzak
'eh whatever. I used to make AAA and Indie games | Ludum Dare | Blog | Tweetar

Edited by PoV on Sun Oct 25, 2015 8:32 pm; edited 27 times

SiroccoModeratorJoined: 19 Aug 2005
Posts: 9470
Location: Not Finland

Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 4:14 pm Post subject:

The only one I want is

Shulk. And no, this doesn't invoke the doctrine -- because I said so ;)

_________________NoOP / Reyn Time -- The $ is screwing everyone these days. (0xDB)

I picked up the Samus one, of course. Will never use it, nor open it. Just looked cool and there happened to be only one on the shelf. Figured "what the hell". :]_________________loomsoft :]

PoVModeratorJoined: 21 Aug 2005
Posts: 10971
Location: Canadia

Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2015 10:58 am Post subject:

Seriously, the state of Amiibo's is batshit crazy. Canada especially, we're under-allocated. Our Best Buy's (FutureShop) only did online pre-orders of Meta Knight (their exclusive), and they were all gone last year. The state of Shulk is really bad though. I visited a couple EB's today, and one isn't even getting them at all (because nobody pre-ordered). Sadness.

Yesterday, Best Buy (and FutureShop) announced they'd open limited pre-orders for Rosalina+Luma at 3 AM. 55 minutes later (~4 AM), Future Shop finally opens them, but sells out 100-200 in less than a minute. I had it in my cart (still do), but the website glitched out while I was paying and couldn't complete my order. I waited on Best Buy for another hour, but gave up. Ultimately, Best buy was 4 hours late (7 AM), so I missed out due to Zzzz.

Rosalina I don't actually want for my collection, but as a trader for one I do want. Yes, that's how bad things have got. You literally buy rare Amiibo's you don't want, so you can trade them for the ones you do. When Wave 4 pre-orders open, I'll be grabbing a Robin (Fire Emblem) and keeping it in-box, just in case I want it as a trader. I may decide to keep it, but right now today I don't care about the character.

I managed to get a Toad pre-order today, by driving all the way to EB Games (Gamestop) and getting a pre-order in before noon (when the online store was to open pre-orders).

Friday I'll be trying to get my hands on a Lucario. I technically have one with my name on it already (friend in US picked up), but I'm going to try anyways. If I do get it, that means he can use the one he bought for me as a trader._________________Mike Kasprzak
'eh whatever. I used to make AAA and Indie games | Ludum Dare | Blog | Tweetar

So as much as I would love to get them on Amazon, they just don't sell them on Amazon (well, the scalpers do for 3x the price, but not Amazon themselves)_________________Mike Kasprzak
'eh whatever. I used to make AAA and Indie games | Ludum Dare | Blog | Tweetar

PoVModeratorJoined: 21 Aug 2005
Posts: 10971
Location: Canadia

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2015 10:10 am Post subject:

Amazing. EB Games announced limited stock of Rosalina would go up at noon... sold-out within 5 seconds. No joke, I was refreshing until the website froze, and by the time the website came back, they were all gone.

I've given up on her now. Way too many people are sniping the insignificant stock there is. Only retailer left is Walmart, and I just don't care.

So I did some re-con yesterday at Toys R Us. It turns out we're getting a lot of stock (all things considered). Guy at one Toys R Us assumed 4 units, but I visited the other TRU in the city and they actually have 24 units (she checked for me). So, Friday morning bright and early (well, 9:30 AM) I'll be there to get mine. ;)

Somebody on the Reddit discovered a coupon for $10 off any $40 purchase at Toys R Us Canada, and shipping is free above $25, so I scored some common Amiibos for $12 each including tax (regular price here is $13.99+tax (about $16)). Kirby, Pikachu and Donkey Kong.

I actually forgot DK was a retro game character. Ha! 1981 baby! ;)_________________Mike Kasprzak
'eh whatever. I used to make AAA and Indie games | Ludum Dare | Blog | Tweetar

PoVModeratorJoined: 21 Aug 2005
Posts: 10971
Location: Canadia

Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 8:44 am Post subject:

The collection has grown. From 5 to 10. I guess technically that also means I've spent over $100 on Amiibo now. :(

I got my Lucario this morning, so I'm happy. Had to wait in line about 30 minutes, and fortunately it was an indoor line (TEH WINTER IS COLD). Store had 23, and I was #11.

And Samus is starting to disappear, I decided to grab one while I was out-and-about. Only store that still had them was Walmart.

Okay! So now I'm waiting on my Megaman, Sonic and Fox to ship. That, and for Wave 4 pre-orders to open (Pac-Man, Ness, Luciana, Robin, Charizard, Wario but I don't want a Wario). They're already open in the UK, but apparently due to a shipyard strike in the US, nobody particularly knows when to expect anything._________________Mike Kasprzak
'eh whatever. I used to make AAA and Indie games | Ludum Dare | Blog | Tweetar

Hard RockContributorJoined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 238

Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2015 12:15 am Post subject:

I guess I got lucky as the ones I really wanted - Kirby, Pikachu, and Yoshi, are in stock everywhere so I had no problems picking them up.

I also wouldn't have minded Sonic but I sat on it too long and it sold out. Oh well._________________Hard Rock
[The Stars Dev Company][Twitter]

PoVModeratorJoined: 21 Aug 2005
Posts: 10971
Location: Canadia

Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2015 8:58 am Post subject:

I suspect some of the other popular characters are just temporarily stock limited (Sonic, Mega Man, etc). Nintendo has admitted their own ignorance of toy-making and the supply chain, not to mention the dock situation in Los Angeles is really screwing with release dates. Who would have thought a Nintendo Skylanders clone would be more popular than Skylanders itself?

I pre-ordered both Sonic and Mega Man back in December, and they still haven't shipped yet. I think it's a little too soon to declare them as gone._________________Mike Kasprzak
'eh whatever. I used to make AAA and Indie games | Ludum Dare | Blog | Tweetar

PoVModeratorJoined: 21 Aug 2005
Posts: 10971
Location: Canadia

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 8:07 am Post subject:

Ah, it looks like I haven't tweeted about this in a while.

Today was a big-haul day (i.e. Wave 4 launch day). Up at 5 AM, and after 5 hours of waiting/traveling to 3 different stores, I added 10 Amiibo to my collection.

It looks like I didn't update way back when I got a bunch on sale, so here's the collection (all 25 of them).

_________________Mike Kasprzak
'eh whatever. I used to make AAA and Indie games | Ludum Dare | Blog | Tweetar

SiroccoModeratorJoined: 19 Aug 2005
Posts: 9470
Location: Not Finland

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 12:44 pm Post subject:

I remember, a looooooooooooong time ago, Nintendo put out a series of figures for Zelda II. I don't remember much other than realizing that was rather unusual for them at the time._________________NoOP / Reyn Time -- The $ is screwing everyone these days. (0xDB)

Me I'm waiting for EB Games (the Canadian GameStop) to confirm anything about the impending restock.

EDIT: Aaaand Best Buy Canada just restocked Meta Knights. I have one on the way (and a Wario to pad my order). :D

Basically, restocks of all the super rare Amiibos are happening randomly over the next few days/weeks._________________Mike Kasprzak
'eh whatever. I used to make AAA and Indie games | Ludum Dare | Blog | Tweetar

PoVModeratorJoined: 21 Aug 2005
Posts: 10971
Location: Canadia

Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2015 7:02 am Post subject:

Just gotta say: F*ck you Nintendo.

So alright. I have everything I wanted, except Shulk. Yesterday was apparently restock day at EB (GameStop). Alas, I wasn't able to get to a store. I'll have to wait either until EB restock round-2, or ... uh.

I also ended up with a spare Marth. Amazon screwed up, and not only did not cancel my order, but charged me shipping ($5, bleh). So I'll have to sell it, maybe trade it.

EDIT: I just posted a Kijiji (craigslist) Ad to trade it for a Shulk. I doubt I'll get any takers, but it's done.

EDIT2: Ha, some dude is asking me silly questions like "is it a 1st printing"._________________Mike Kasprzak
'eh whatever. I used to make AAA and Indie games | Ludum Dare | Blog | Tweetar

PoVModeratorJoined: 21 Aug 2005
Posts: 10971
Location: Canadia

Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 1:20 pm Post subject:

And with that, I'm finally done.

...

Done collecting what's been released anyway.

I had 5 people respond to my Kijiji Ad. Apparently nobody responds once you respond back to them. Except for this last dude.

Ahh... I am free ... for like 2 weeks.

I've gone ahead and re-listed my Wario. Asking for $25. If I can sell that, I'll at least break even on the Marth (damn Amazon charging me shipping)._________________Mike Kasprzak
'eh whatever. I used to make AAA and Indie games | Ludum Dare | Blog | Tweetar

I'd say I'm almost done. I haven't ordered any more, but I do kinda feel I should have a Dragon, and the Mimic looks pretty good too.

The only downside is that they only make the Metal ones now, and IMO some characters look better in Plastic. Sadly there was no transparent Bubble Slime, which I think would have looked best._________________Mike Kasprzak
'eh whatever. I used to make AAA and Indie games | Ludum Dare | Blog | Tweetar

PoVModeratorJoined: 21 Aug 2005
Posts: 10971
Location: Canadia

Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2015 12:22 pm Post subject:

Home now.

This went on in-store pre-order at EB Games (GameStop) on Saturday... while I was away:

I was out-of-town until just a few hours ago (Sunday). Fortunately, they still had some pre-order slots left, so I scored a pre-order. All 3 are the main Amiibos I've been waiting for.

This is coming soon too.

Voxel Mario OMG.

After that, Olimar (Pikmin) is the only character I have left coming in the next batch.

Tempted to skip bean-bag Yoshi (I already have a Yoshi... bah).

Additionally, I *COULD* also grab Ganondorf and Dr.Mario, but ... *sigh*

I need to get Voxel Mario (he suits the retro collection), so with that and the Silver Mario I already have, I'm not sure I need 3 Mario's. Honestly, I should have just *NOT* purchased Silver Mario. I might only be able to get $10-$15 for him if I sold him, which is a loss, but *shrug*. I dunno.

Ganondorf is huge. TBH I don't actually like the Zelda games that much, but I am a fan of the original NES games (where Ganon was a pig). But that said, I kinda like Ganondorf in Smash Bros (despite not liking his origin games).

I need to cut myself off though. Meh.

After that, Ryu is a BIG yes. MewTwo is a probably. Roy... would complete my swordfighters set. Lucas... I could probably live without.

I should probably grab a Lucas as a trader. Ganondorf too._________________Mike Kasprzak
'eh whatever. I used to make AAA and Indie games | Ludum Dare | Blog | Tweetar

PoVModeratorJoined: 21 Aug 2005
Posts: 10971
Location: Canadia

Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2015 1:30 pm Post subject:

Ha! Okay, shelf space matters.

I have space for 5 more Amiibo, and I can make space for 2 more.

What I'm thinking:

Sept 11
- Voxel Mario (Modern colors version)

Sept 25
- Rob *
- Duck Hunt *
- Mr Game & Watch *
- Olimar (Pikmin)

(* Already PreOrdered)

If I sell Silver Mario, I can replace him with Dr.Mario.

As for making space (coming much later):

- Ryu
- MewTwo

I should be able to fit these two no problem.

I will pass on Ganondorf, and Roy... or if I do get a Roy, I'll hang on to him as a trader until I'm sure.

* * *

Adding a few more toys to my Dragon Quest collection too.

That's basically all I have room for.

I think that will do._________________Mike Kasprzak
'eh whatever. I used to make AAA and Indie games | Ludum Dare | Blog | Tweetar

Make it simple for yourself PoV. Buy another shelf :o._________________My Blog | I take steroids for my bad knee. Now I can kick a smart car across the Walmart parking lot![/size]

PoVModeratorJoined: 21 Aug 2005
Posts: 10971
Location: Canadia

Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2015 9:12 am Post subject:

... that would be trouble. This method is safer. ;)_________________Mike Kasprzak
'eh whatever. I used to make AAA and Indie games | Ludum Dare | Blog | Tweetar

SiroccoModeratorJoined: 19 Aug 2005
Posts: 9470
Location: Not Finland

Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 1:53 pm Post subject:

The voxel Mario ones are a nice surprise.

If you go through Smash Bros and looks at all the trophies, you can imagine they have virtually limitless Amiibo possibilities (except that most of them will do nothing noteworthy when used in a game)._________________NoOP / Reyn Time -- The $ is screwing everyone these days. (0xDB)